Effat, a young Pakistani migrant living in Western Sydney receives news of her husband’s passing. Stricken with grief, she begins to question her place in the world and her duty as Muslim woman. She leaves home in a state of despondency, losing herself in memories of her husband, from their Nikkah (religious union) and their Shaadi (wedding ceremony). In the present day, we see moment from their Shaadi manifest into a physical reality around her, where in one moment, we see her walking with family members holding a Quran over her head, representing the ruksaathi (the ‘send off’ whereby a woman is officially leaving her home and joining another). Then in another moment, the same family members are yelling and shouting disparaging words in her ear as she walks down a street (a physical manifestation of her disjointed feelings). During her walk, there is an encounter with a young girl who perceives her as being misplaced and out of her element – not only a stark reminder of her place in the world and Australia, but a moment that grounds her in the pain of her reality. As her turmoiled emotions sink in, her body succumbs to exhaustion. Resting on a park bench, Effat watches the sunset as she drifts off under the gaze of its light. She awakens in a dreamscape where she is reunited with her beloved husband. In this dream, they both dance, the same dance as depicted in the memories of their wedding day, but this time set in an Australian landscape. Thus, reinforcing both the spiritual and psychological transitions made through immigration and loss. An imprinted moment in time.
Key Credits:
Written and Directed by Zain Ayub
Production Company Picture Works Australia and Virtue Film
Full Credits | Cast
Safia Arain | Effat
Saket Dongre | Raza
Tahlia Sturzaker | Molly (young girl)
Wazeem Khan | Relative 1
Shabnam Tavakol | Relative 2
Ranjeet Manjrekar | Relative 3
Sumaya Mozumder | Relative 4
Ismat Awan | Relative 5
Zain Ayub | Relative 6
Andrew Singh | Relative 7
Crew
Written and Directed by Zain Ayub
Producers | Abel Robinson, Lexee Gordoun, Nadine Torney
Executive Producer | Zain Ayub
Director of Photography | Glenn Hanns
Production Design | Lauren Griffiths Joe Lipman
Editor | Melanie Robson
Additional Editing | Zain Ayub
Composer | Jason Fernandez
Sound Design | Josh Wermut of XO Sound
Colourist | Antonio Centonze CSI
Gaffer | Datu Bethke
Best Boy | Rewiti Brown
MUA|Isabella Cambria
Assistant Camera | Paul King
First Assistant Director | Abel Robinson
Second Assistant Director | Nadine Torney
Production Coordinator | Stefan Whitecunas
Production Assistants | Laura Baily, Lisa Davidson Mikayla Muscat
BTS | Leo Harunah, Kristen Abalos
Catering | Ismat Awan
Special Thanks | Rentacam Sydney – https://rentacam.sydney/ Lemac
